My 2 cents

Politics?

Politics?

You may ask me what party I belong to, Republican or Democrat?

That’s a very good question. I wish I had a simpler answer.

My parents were staunch Democrats. They voted Dem. in every election no mater what. For them the choice was simpler.

When I was first entering the job market, Dem. Jimmy Carter was finishing up his second term. He was a likable guy, good foreign policy, bad interior financial policies. I say this because for the last two years of his Presidency , the only jobs I could find were agricultural. Factories were not hiring, I couldn’t even get a job pumping gas, but I could and did work on dairy farms, and I had my fill of mucking smelly stalls, hay baling in the hot sun, getting stepped on and kicked by 500 lb. cows. Getting up at 3:30 AM to wash udders and milk cows, and doing it again before bed. Every day , no Sunday’s no Holidays, for the paltry sum that the farm made on a gallon of milk.

I joined the Army as soon as I could and got away from that life. I’ll not lie about it, since I was a very small boy and my Dad came home from Vietnam, it had always been my dream to serve my country. I suppose that’s a heredity thing, cause all of the men in my family through the generations have felt this way. I do however feel that had I not joined, I would still be washing cow teats at 4:00AM.

The Reagan Administration was a high time for me. We had a charismatic President who wasn’t a crook, was not afraid to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. The cold war ended. Our economy was strong, and being an American was something to be proud of again.

George Bush’s presidency was at first a continuation of the great Reagan era. Although I must admit, having spent time in the Saudi desert we would have served ourselves better had we got rid of that Dictator in Iraq then. I mean America needed a total victory, and we stopped short. I understand that he was afraid of upsetting the Arabs who had joined the coalition, but I think even they would have preferred to have the inevitable done then as well. When I returned home things had gone to hell and I opted to leave my chosen career to save my marriage.

Through the Clinton administration I worked. We will leave it at that. I wasn’t impressed with his first lie…“I smoked marijuana, but I didn’t inhale.” I say, “Horse puck!” That one statement is probably what got him elected. Then there was the White Water scandal. That was more Hillary’s gig then his. “Wanna buy some unusable Arkansas swamp land?” Then their was the intern who couldn’t swallow. The trophy dress stain, and oral sex is not infidelity. He would have done better ,when reporters asked about his affair had he said, “It’s none of your damn business!” instead of “I did not have sex with that woman!”

Now we have George W.. He had the potential to be a good president at the beginning. Then 911 happened, and all that potential went out the window. It’s not entirely his fault. I mean a war we didn’t want was thrust upon us. Domestic policies have a way of being shoved aside when your country gets Pearl Harbored. The War in Afghanistan and on terrorism I support whole heartedly. In light of how crappy our intelligence networks caught on to the 911 plot, he should have stepped back and had his information on Sadam’s Iraq checked over before going to Congress and the U.N. for permission and support to go to war. From a soldiers point of view, at the outset I thought our troop concentrations were too low. How can you hold a country safe with so few men on the ground. We aren’t talking about civilized people like in Europe. We are talking about a part of the world where people are intentionally kept ignorant , so that their governments and religious leaders can use them as cannon fodder. How else do you get a person to strap C4 to his chest and blow up a bus load of innocent people on their way to work, or shopping for food at the open street bazaar?
Well too little too late. We are in it, and even if we don’t like it we should see it through to the end. After all an unnecessary victory is preferable to an unnecessary defeat. The unfortunate thing I think is that these soldiers would have better served their country in a war against North Korea, who actually poses a real and considerable threat to the United States ,and our allies. Catching Osama has become second stage business due to concerns over the sovereignty of Pakistan. Funny how that never occurred to us in Afghanistan, or Iraq. I could swear I heard George W. say that if you stand in the way of our capturing and/or killing of Osama Bin Laden , we will remove you! (or that was the gist of his speech, anyway)

Oh well, I miss seeing the flag wave from every home and business I pass.

Back to the question , What party do I belong to?

I have long considered myself an independent. You see that way my vote actually counts for something. The tie breaker. So I will do as I have always done, and research the past political histories of each candidate, and vote for the one who is charismatic, tough on foreign policy, honest on domestic and personal issues, steadfast, and most of all confident. Those traits are what in my eye, make a president competent. As far as I can recall we have only had two Presidents which fit this description to a T…Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronny Reagan. Since the candidates offered this election don’t strike me as fitting this mold, I will vote for the one who comes closest.